tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785705342518747112.post4714745980093363197..comments2013-07-24T16:06:55.566-07:00Comments on Year of Joy: On the road to self-sufficiency!Emily Hubbardnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785705342518747112.post-21878681020082874252013-07-24T16:06:55.566-07:002013-07-24T16:06:55.566-07:00That&#39;s true, and it&#39;s a good thing to thin...That&#39;s true, and it&#39;s a good thing to think about. I&#39;m interested in eating organic just as much as I am interested in eating non-GMO. But I also know that it&#39;s possible to grow non-GMO organically, and that the two often go hand in hand. I would think (although I don&#39;t know) that the farmers who are the most invested in GMO are probably also pretty willing to use pesticides. Conversely, farmers who are the most invested in organic also seem to value non-GMO foods. Heirloom varieties aren&#39;t THAT difficult to grow; it is possible to use organic methods to keep pests away. <br /><br />I guess what I&#39;m saying is, I think that practically speaking, GMO is probably not going to reduce or eradicate the use of pesticides. I&#39;m always in favor of small, local farmers rather than big ones, and small farmers tend to both grow non-GMO and to grow organic (or at least to use pesticides much less). I could be wrong, but I don&#39;t think that the GMO debate is really a question of &quot;nutritious tomato vs. pesticide-free tomato.&quot; I think it&#39;s more than possible, with the way the food industry is now, to get both. Emily Colemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14777243283548102053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785705342518747112.post-72982474220906258192013-07-24T14:12:23.424-07:002013-07-24T14:12:23.424-07:00Ooh, I can&#39;t resist weighing in on the GMO thi...Ooh, I can&#39;t resist weighing in on the GMO thing, even though I really don&#39;t know much about it and I don&#39;t have a strong opinion either way. But you gave good arguments against GMO foods, and you didn&#39;t mention one argument in favor that I&#39;ve heard. (Well, you sort of mentioned it, but you didn&#39;t point out the good aspects of it.) Genetically modified produce can be more pest-resistant. Everyone benefits from reduced pesticide use. I&#39;m not saying that I&#39;m sure it&#39;s worth the trade-off, but it seems like I&#39;d probably rather have Summer eating a slightly less nutritious tomato than a pesticide-covered one. I&#39;m a lot more concerned about pesticides now that I&#39;m feeding a child. I even paid extra for organic strawberries the other day.Carriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10038597347405251733noreply@blogger.com